


Absolutely Smitten

by eclipseok



Category: The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: Crushes, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Post-Canon, gay fluff, kevin is soft, mcpriceley, that's all i write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-12-24 04:18:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12004851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eclipseok/pseuds/eclipseok
Summary: But it's too lateHe believes in fateHe's absolutely smittenAnd he'll never let you go(Inspired by Absolutely Smitten by Dodie Clark)





	Absolutely Smitten

Kevin knew this feeling all too well. 

As he watched Connor dance around the grassy field with the young Ugandan children, he felt his heart began to swell. He'd never have guessed he would come on his mission only to get a crush on their _mission leader_ , who was a _boy_. Sure, he'd never had a huge crush on a girl before, but nonetheless, he hadn't come to the realization that he liked boys during his days in the strict church. 

He leaned against the tree trunk and pretended to write in his notebook when he saw Connor's head lift up and look at him. Kevin would never admit that he wanted to kiss him until his lips turned blue, or cuddle up next to him on a cold day (there were none of those in Uganda, but it was still a nice thought). 

"Kevin! C'mere!" he heard Connor's sing-song voice yell from where he was playing with all the little ones. He wanted to pretend he didn't hear him so he wouldn't embarrass himself as he'd done many times before, but his heart lead him to the open space where Connor waited for him. The kids all ran up to Kevin and climbed on his legs, making him chuckle. 

"Do you need something Eld- Connor?" Kevin winced; he still hadn't adjusted to using first names only when talking to the other boys. 

"You seemed lonely, just wanted to keep you a little company. But I gotta keep an eye on these kids," Connor replied, smiling at him. Kevin felt his insides turn to jelly. 

"Okay..." Kevin didn't really know what to say. He was bad at conversations in general, but being around Connor made him ten times dumber. 

"You good? You're a little red. Have you had enough water today?" Connor inquired, putting the back of his hand against Kevin's forehead and looking straight into his eyes. His heart pounded like a drum against his ribs at the closeness of the shorter boy, who stared up at him worriedly. 

"Oh, I'm fine," Kevin said quickly, tripping backwards a little bit from the boys pulling on his legs. 

Connor looked at him curiously before pulling one of the small girls into his arms and bouncing her on his hip. 

God, he was absolutely smitten with this red haired boy. 

-

Kevin was never one that had many "hell dreams." He'd usually dream about having Disneyworld all to himself or eating all the maple glazed donuts he wanted. But somehow, Connor had wormed his way into these sequences. 

He'd see himself holding hands with Connor as they walked through Fantasyland and sipped hot cocoa. He'd see them kissing on Splash Mountain as the camera snapped their descent. He'd see them buying matching embroidered Mickey ears and taking pictures with all the princesses. 

Kevin never wanted to wake up. 

But every time, he did. He got up and acted awkward and stupid around Connor, only making matters worse for him. Kevin tended to over think almost _everything_. 

"Are you ever gonna actually say something to Connor, or are you gonna keep acting like a ding dong for the rest of our time here?" Arnold asked out of the blue one night, making Kevin sit straight up in his bed and look at him. 

"Is it that obvious?" Kevin knew it was useless to try to hide anything from his mission companion; he could read him like a book. 

"Are you kidding me? You turn into a stuttering mess whenever he's anywhere near you." Arnold giggled, flipping through his comic book. 

Kevin sighed, his heart fluttering ever so slightly at the mere thought of Connor. "I don't know, Arn. It's hard."

"How? I never had many issues with Naba."

"Because I'm a cocky and awkward mess and you're outgoing and kind," Kevin admitted. His self-esteem had been up and down lately, but he was not very nice to anyone when he'd arrived. 

"No one's perfect, Kev! I mean, think about how Naba and I began talking." Arnold did have a point; Kevin still didn't know how the Naba had completely forgiven Arnold after all the frog stories he fed her. Still, they _were_ happy together. 

"I'll talk to you more tomorrow, I'm tired." Kevin really wasn't tired - on the contrary - but he didn't want to continue this conversation any longer. He couldn't really explain why it was so hard to talk to Connor. 

"Okay! Goodnight, best friend!" Arnold said, before dozing off a few minutes later. 

Kevin stared at the ceiling for another hour lost in thought before he fell into another happy-dream filled sleep. 

-

Nothing had improved; Kevin had become _more_ awkward, especially considering Connor was trying to engage him in more social events. 

"Kevin, c'mon! It's just a little sermon that Arnold's putting on. Let's just go watch!" Connor whined, tugging on his arm. 

Kevin tried to pull his arm away but Connor was set on getting him to come. He gave in, to Connor's delight, and walked silently beside the redhead to the makeshift stage area. 

Kevin tried to focus on Arnold's blabbering about Star Trek and Frodo or whatever, but Connor's presence beside him was distracting, even though he wasn't doing anything. 

"Are you good?" Connor questioned, putting his hand on Kevin's shoulder. Connor was a really touchy-feely person. "You look rather pale."

Kevin took a step to his left, away from Connor, before replying. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Because you said that last time I asked and you don't seem fine." Kevin didn't respond. Connor raised his eyebrows before pulling Kevin away from the group to try to talk to him. 

Connor just looked at Kevin, waiting for him to say something. When Kevin just stared down at his feet uncomfortably, Connor sighed. 

"You're hiding something, Kevin. You can tell me anything, y'know?" Connor rubbed his arm in attempts to be comforting, but it only sent Kevin more on edge. 

"It's nothing! Just... I'm fine, Connor. That's it," Kevin said (louder than he had intended), moving away from Connor again. He looked a mix of hurt and frustration, and Kevin's heart ached at the sight. 

"Um, okay. Well, if you do wanna talk, you know where I'll be." And with that, the walked away. Kevin ran his fingers through his tangled hair and groaned. He was ruining everything because he was too scared of complete rejection. It'd probably be better to just get it off his chest, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. 

That night, Kevin did have a hell-ish dream. Except it was where he came clean to Connor and got pushed onto the ground and abandoned. He knew Connor was too kind to do something like that, but Kevin still woke up with a pain in his chest. 

He'd talked to Arnold more about it before they went to sleep at night. He didn't tell him _too_ much, but he did open up. 

When he woke up the next day, he noticed he'd slept in two hours later than usual. "Shit," he mumbled as he put on one of the plain shirts he'd gotten from the market and headed out to the kitchen, where the other boys were already sitting and chatting. 

"Sleeping beauty has risen!" Chris shouted from the table, making all the heads turn to look at Kevin. He chuckled nervously before sitting on one of the chairs next to Arnold. 

"What took you so long bud? Have another dream abou-" Kevin elbowed Arnold hard in the arm before he finished his sentence. He knew Arnold had no filter; he really shouldn't have told him so much. 

"Oh? Dreams about who?" James pressed, making Kevin look down. 

"No one, it's nothing," Kevin said quickly, uncomfortable under the gaze of all the other boys. Most noticeably Connor's, which felt like it was burning into his skin. 

"Dreams about Connor!" Arnold exclaimed after a moment of silence, making Kevin's head shoot up to stare at his best friend with wide eyes. Arnold looked at him apologetically; he knew he didn't mean to spurt it out, he couldn't help it. 

There was silence around the table - no one knew what to say. 

"Is that true, Kevin?" a voice asked: Connor. 

"I... I gotta go," Kevin sputtered, rushing towards the bathroom to escape the conversation. A few people yelled after him, but Connor just stared, not moving. 

-

Kevin had avoided everyone all day, lying under his covers to be alone with his self-deprecating thoughts. No one checked in on him, not that he'd have wanted them to anyway. He was better off in his own head. 

It wasn't Arnold's fault that he told him - he'd come to accept that Arnold couldn't control his mouth. Still, he was overcome with anxiety at the fact that he would have to face Connor at some point. 

He intended on putting it off as long as he could though. He knew it'd be awkward and uncomfortable, and he didn't know if he could do that right now. 

A knock on his door shook him out of his thoughts. "Who is it?"

"Nabulungi." A wave of relief washed over Kevin before he went to open the door. 

"Hey, Naba! What's up?" Kevin put on a fake smile, to which Naba frowned. 

"Kevin, I know you are not okay, you do not have to pretend." She shut the door and walked over to Arnold's empty bed, sitting down. 

"Okay, fine. What'd you come to talk about, then?"

"The Connor thing." Kevin sighed and ran his hand through his hair, sitting across from her. "Kevin, be honest. What do you feel for him?"

Kevin hesitated for a moment. "He's just... beautiful. I don't know how else to put it. He's the most beautiful person I've ever met, inside and out. He's kind, selfless, funny, and creative. I feel like I'm walking on air just thinking of him." Kevin smiled sadly. "Heavenly Father knows he wouldn't like me back, though."

"You are a fucking idiot, Kevin,” Naba said bluntly. "He has basically been in love with you since you arrived. You really have never noticed?"

When Kevin thought about it, it did make sense - he had caught Connor staring at him a few times - but he was far too in denial to accept that. 

"Talk to him, Kevin," Naba said, standing up from the bed, "or I will quite literally cut your dick off."

Kevin watched her leave and stared at the wall a few moments longer. Naba was right. He needed to come clean. 

Maybe tomorrow. Or the next day. 

-

Kevin tried to psych himself up to talk to Connor, but no matter what he felt sick to his stomach. 

He knocked quietly on the door to Connor's office before opening it slightly. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." Kevin walked in to see a stressed looking Connor spinning around in his chair. 

"I need to talk to you," Kevin said, making Connor stop spinning. 

"Then go ahead," Connor replied, his expression blank. 

Kevin cleared his throat before speaking, closing his eyes tightly. "Arnold was telling the truth. Yesterday at breakfast. I, uh... I have a rather big crush on you. Actually, I'm kinda infatuated with you. But I've kinda been a stupid douche and you're really kindhearted and amazing and I haven't done anything to deserve that feeling back. I figured it'd be better to get that off my chest instead of keeping it to myself any longer so... yeah." He shuffled his feet awkwardly, waiting for a response.

Connor looked at Kevin for what felt like an eternity before standing up and walking towards him. "You _are_ an idiot, Kevin Price."

"What do you-" before he could finish, Connor's lips were pressed against his, making his body feel like a cloud. His arms found their way around the shorter boys waist, pulling him closer. 

They pulled away and Kevin could feel his lips tingling. 

"You know I've been pining after you since you walked through the door, right?" Connor said with a laugh, pressing his forehead against Kevin's. "I just figured you were straight as a stick."

"I wouldn't call this very straight." They giggled together before Connor wrapped his arms around Kevin, squeezing him tight. 

"Aww!" Arnold cooed from the hallway, making the two boys jump. "I told you it'd work, Naba!"

"Arnold," Kevin groaned, putting his forehead on Connor's shoulder. 

"I told him not to come in here, but he insisted," Naba explained from behind the excited curly-haired boy. 

"You two are so cute! Oh, wait until the others find out! We've placed bets on-" Arnold was smacked on the arm by Naba, which cut him off. "Okay, see you guys later!"

Connor was grinning at Kevin, who had a red face and was kicking his foot on the ground. 

"So are you gonna kiss me again or what?"

And he did. Oh, he did.


End file.
